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tabling member printed

Paul Farrelly

legislature › pref label

House of Commons

min answer › question first answered

2019-05-17T13:46:38.257Z

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To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions
he has had with Cabinet colleagues on (a) ensuring adequate support for local authorities
to tackle fly-tipping and (b) ensuring that persistent offenders are either fined
or prosecuted.

<p>Local authorities have a wide range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping
and we have recently strengthened these. In 2016 we gave local authorities the power
to issue fixed penalty notices for small scale fly-tipping and enhanced local authorities’
ability to search and seize the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. In January this
year, we introduced further financial penalties to crack down on fly-tipping giving
local authorities the power to issue penalties of up to £400 to householders who fail
to pass their waste to a licensed carrier and whose waste is then found fly-tipped.
We will also support local authorities in increasing householders’ awareness of their
duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of appropriately.</p><p> </p><p>In
our Resources and Waste Strategy for England, we have <del class="ministerial">included</del>
<ins class="ministerial">committed to develop a</ins> fly-tipping toolkit which will
cover how local authorities can set up and run an effective fly-tipping partnership
and how to present robust cases to court to ensure tougher penalties. The Strategy
also sets out how we will work with the court system to further strengthen the sentences
of fly-tippers to ensure they act as a suitable deterrent.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to
increase the (a) level and (b) quality of (i) staff qualifications and (ii) in-service
professional development in the pre-school childcare sector.

<p>We are committed to ensuring that all children have access to high quality early
education and can achieve their full potential. The latest Ofsted data confirms that
95% of early years providers are now rated ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’, up from 68% in
2010.</p><p> </p><p>The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework is mandatory
for all early years providers in England. It sets out the staffing requirements for
early years settings, including ratios and qualifications.</p><p> </p><p>In March
2017, we published the early years workforce strategy. This set out how the government
will support employers to attract, retain and develop high quality early years staff,
which is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-workforce-strategy"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-workforce-strategy</a>.</p><p>
</p><p>Since then we have worked with sector stakeholders to develop criteria for
new more robust level 2 qualifications and awarded a grant to take forward activity
to promote gender diversity in the early years workforce. We have also created a new
career pathway document to support careers advice, recruitment and staff development.
This information is available here: <a href="https://www.cache.org.uk/media/1417/dfe-career-pathway-map-v17.pdf"
target="_blank">https://www.cache.org.uk/media/1417/dfe-career-pathway-map-v17.pdf</a>.</p><p>
</p><p>We are also supporting employer trailblazer groups to develop new apprenticeship
standards for the early years workforce and investing £20 million in in-service professional
development and training for early years practitioners in pre-reception settings in
disadvantaged areas.</p><p> </p>

<p>Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) working in schools are required
to achieve a National Award in SEN Co-ordination (NASENCO) within 3 years of appointment
(unless they were appointed before 1 September 2009). There are no plans to change
this.</p><p>The NASENCO is a Masters-level award that covers all aspects of leading
on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within schools. It also covers
aspects of supporting children and young people with SEND. An accredited Early Years
SENCO Award is being delivered by NASENCO. It is not mandatory for SENCOs in early
years setting to gain this qualification.</p><p>Guidance to help schools understand
how the Equality Act (2010) affects them and how to fulfil their duties under the
act is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools</a>.
There are no plans to introduce mandatory training in relation to the Equality Act.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent
assessment he has made of the potential merits of a national campaign to (a) reinforce
recycling behaviour, (b) signpost recycling facilities and (c) ensure the public know
what materials they can recycle.

<p>Our consultations on ‘consistency in household and business recycling collections
in England’ and on ‘reforming the packaging producer responsibility schemes’ proposed
measures for local authorities collecting the same core set of materials for recycling
from households and potentially using fees from producers to fund public communication
campaigns on recycling.</p><p> </p><p>Our consultations also proposed a mandatory
UK wide labelling scheme in which producers label their packaging as recyclable or
not recyclable.</p><p> </p><p>These consultations closed on 13 May and we are currently
analysing responses and will publish the Government’s response in due course.</p><p>
</p><p>Defra currently supports the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s RecycleNow
campaign which provides support for local campaigns. It also provides a toolkit for
local authorities to help with their messaging on recycling.</p>

<p>Entitlement to student finance and home fees status in the UK after the implementation
period for those outside the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement is under consideration
by the UK government and the devolved administrations.</p><p>For EU students already
enrolled on courses in the UK, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the UK government
has already provided certainty. Students from the EU starting courses in England in
the 2019/20 academic year will continue to be eligible for ‘home fee status’, meaning
they will be charged the same tuition fees as UK students and have access to tuition
fee loans for the duration of their studies.</p><p>More broadly, the UK government
has been engaging directly with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including
securing citizens’ rights reassurances. These span a number of areas including on
access to education.</p><p> </p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant
to the Answer of 30 April 2019 to Question 245672 on Consumers: Internet, what steps
his Department is taking to ensure that the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading
Regulations 2008 are fully enforced.

<p>Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2008 provides for a number of enforcers, such as Trading
Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority, to enforce consumer protection
legislation, including the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
Alleged breaches of legislation should be reported in the first instance through the
Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 (<a href="http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/"
target="_blank">www.citizensadvice.org.uk/</a>). The helpline will refer on alleged
breaches of legislation to the relevant authority for appropriate enforcement action.</p>

<p>Members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), including the
United Kingdom, are prevented from taxing international aviation fuel, or any proxies
for fuel, under the Chicago Convention. However, Air Passenger Duty – which raised
£3.4 billion in 2017-18 – ensures that the air travel sector contributes to the cost
of public services.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is
taking to ensure that Tier 4 visa applications are treated equitably in respect of
(a) country of application and (b) intended place of study.

<p>Tier 4 visa applications are assessed in accordance with the Immigration Rules.
Applicants are treated equitably and must meet the same requirements to qualify for
leave under a given Tier 4 route and type of sponsor. Nationals of countries listed
in Appendix H are subject to reduced documentary requirements although they must meet
the same substantive requirements as other nationals. This list is kept under review
and we may add or remove countries and competent authorities based on objective criteria.
Applicants intending to study at Tier 4 Visa Pilot Scheme institutions are also subject
to reduced documentary requirements.</p><p>We will keep the visa application process
for international students under review, with the aim of improving the customer journey
both for students and their sponsoring institutions. This will include reviewing processes
for conducting interviews to ensure that these are appropriately focussed and to minimise
any inconvenience for applicants.</p>

<p>Each individual medical school sets its own undergraduate medical curriculum. These
have to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC), who then monitor
and check to make sure that these standards are maintained.</p><p>The curricula for
postgraduate specialty training is set by individual royal colleges and faculties,
and the GMC approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme.
Training curricula for doctors emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must
develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their
patients. The Royal College of General Practitioners sets the curriculum for general
practitioners (GPs). In order to demonstrate the core competences in the care of children
and young people, the curriculum sets out that GPs should be aware of the early presenting
symptoms of childhood cancers and possible differentials, such as retinoblastoma.</p>

<p>Each individual medical school sets its own undergraduate medical curriculum. These
have to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC), who then monitor
and check to make sure that these standards are maintained.</p><p>The curricula for
postgraduate specialty training is set by individual royal colleges and faculties,
and the GMC approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme.
Training curricula for doctors emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must
develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their
patients. The Royal College of General Practitioners sets the curriculum for general
practitioners (GPs). In order to demonstrate the core competences in the care of children
and young people, the curriculum sets out that GPs should be aware of the early presenting
symptoms of childhood cancers and possible differentials, such as retinoblastoma.</p>